


Unexpected Respect

by Trista_zevkia



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Justice League, Superman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types, Superman/Batman (Comics), World's Finest (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Identity Porn, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 02:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3793171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trista_zevkia/pseuds/Trista_zevkia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Superman wants the new Justice League to do more than fight crime; he wants them to be nice. Everyone's kind of surprised by his example of this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Respect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beizanten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beizanten/gifts).



Superman nodded and spoke to all the members of the new Justice League as he walked by them. This made progress slow, but allowed him to get to know them, and he was happy to make new friends. He also heard the conversations he wasn’t part of, just as his super-hearing had allowed him to know the topic of conversation for most of the planet right now. It wasn’t unexpected that the Justice League would have those same opinions, those same jokes, but it bothered Superman.

When Superman finally made it into the main conference room, he wasn’t surprised to see Batman was already there, and not socializing. He also wasn’t taking part in the snacks or coffee that had been offered. Superman helped himself to a mug of tea and some fruit, ignoring the way Flash was slowly chewing and moaning his way through a donut. He tried to anyway, but the moans were a little more pornographic than one could expect at a daylight meeting. 

“Good, is it?” Superman asked, not sure how else to bring it up. 

“Chocolate cake with bacon sprinkles.” Flash stopped eating long enough to hurry the words out. 

Intrigued, Superman picked up one as well. He liked bacon well enough, but he sure didn’t think it was worth all the press it had been getting lately. Just like he didn’t think some people deserved all the bad press they’d been getting lately. Munching on that, as well as the surprisingly good donut, Superman made his way to the table. Time to get this thing started. 

sB _Sb_ Bs

The meeting had gone well; the food was mostly gone and nobody had fallen asleep. Superman thought that was pretty good, considering he only had Perry White’s meeting management skills to compare with. White made everybody stand while he talked, which worked for a newspaper with a looming deadline, but wasn’t what he wanted here. And that idea kind of helped Superman understand what had been nagging at him all morning. Swigging the last bit of his now cold tea, Superman faced his Justice League once more. 

“If nobody has anything else?” He asked, and waited. He got some head shakes and a couple of no’s. 

“I just have one last thing before we dismiss. It’s not about rules or procedures for the new Justice League; it’s more about the heart of the organization. We’re for justice, that’s right in the title, but I think we can be about a little bit more.” 

There were some confused looks tossed between members of his audience, but the increase in intensity of Batman’s stare was the most noticeable. How he did that with his eyes covered by lenses and his lead lined mask, Superman didn’t know. 

“Take the recent news, everybody has heard about Wayne Enterprises and the deal with Lau Security Investments.” 

That gets a titter out of the crowd, so they all know what he’s talking about. 

“Supposedly, the deal was almost complete when Bruce Wayne made W.E. back out of it. Everybody’s annoyed, thinking it would have brought more jobs to Gotham, as well as opened up a new avenue for exporting goods to Hong Kong. Everybody’s muttering about Bruce Wayne being an idiot who just made everybody poorer.” 

Angry faces and annoyed nods accepted his words, except Batman, who was as still and unreadable as ever. 

“Did you know that since Bruce Wayne returned from wherever he was, he’s capped the salaries of the executives and pays the highest starting wage for unskilled workers in the U.S.? Wayne Enterprises sponsors several rehabilitation programs, and most of the people scared straight by our esteemed colleague Batman wind up working for Wayne Enterprises? Most of the poverty level families in Gotham receive help from the Wayne Foundation in one form or another.” 

Shocked faces stared back at him now, only Batman's expression was different with a small frown. 

“I don’t know how much is Bruce’s influence, or him having hired excellent people, nobody I interviewed could give me an answer on that. Yet, the numbers don’t lie, and Wayne Enterprise’s profits are reaching records every quarter. The Wayne Foundation isn’t under the same control as Wayne Enterprises, even though Bruce Wayne is the figurehead for both.” 

Superman paused, to watch the crowd slowly come to their own conclusions about what all this meant. 

“I don’t know if Bruce Wayne is the utter moron the press makes him out to be. I do know his nighttime antics make great news, often fighting for space with what the urban legend Batman gets up to.” 

A couple of people laughed at that; Batman was not one of them. 

“For all he was born rich, silver spoon in his mouth, Bruce seems to understand that the source of crime is often poverty. Poor people desperate for their next meal, poor people who are jealous of people with nicer cars or homes, people who turn to drugs when they don’t see any other hope of ever feeling good. There are crimes of greed and passion too, but a great deal of the lesser crimes are prevented by giving people the chance at dignity. Batman, not to lessen your accomplishments, but I honestly believe that Bruce Wayne fights crime, in his own way.” 

Now everybody turns to stare at Batman; to watch how he takes this confession. He doesn’t react at all, so they slowly go back to looking at Superman. 

“My point, I guess, is that we will stop crimes, fight for justice, and protect the planet. But if we have the chance, I would like for use to learn from Bruce’s example. Instead of beating the bad guys and leaving, maybe we should stay around if we can and help clean up the fight zone. Or we stop a flood from destroying a village, maybe we build a school while we’re there, and contact somebody about sending out teachers? I haven’t really planned anything, I just want the Justice League to be caring, helping out in whatever way we can.” 

Superman stops to look at the crowd, who are looking back at him with thoughtful expressions. Taking that as a good sign, he pushes forward. 

“Think about ways we can be kind, like Bruce Wayne, and we can discuss it more, later. Meeting dismissed.” 

People got up and left, talking in soft voices. Flash finished up the leftovers, eating them so they wouldn’t have to be disposed of, and Superman edged toward Batman. 

“I hope you didn’t take offense I what I said.” 

Batman was looking at him, but it took an eternity for him to speak up. “It’s fine, I’ve just never heard him described as kind before.” 

“Oh, okay,” Clark responded, not having anything more salient to say on the matter. “Do you know if he’s a lucky idiot or hiding something?” 

“It’s Gotham; everybody is a lucky idiot hiding something.” Batman stood, gave Superman a quick nod, and walked out of the conference room. 

As Clark Kent, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to use a quote from Batman in an article about Bruce Wayne, but he still would have liked Batman’s assessment of Wayne. As Superman, he’d like to know what Batman was hiding, as Superman knew most of the identities of the members of the Justice League. Time would probably bring Batman around to trusting them, so for now, both Clark Kent and Superman had work to get to. 


End file.
